“Here is a recipe for sour cream drop cookies,” she writes. “This came to me by way of my mom, Jessie McCaulley of Darrington. I believe she got it from Emma Strom, who was the great little old lady who lived next door to us in Darrington. This recipe has been a family favorite for years, and I hope it is the one Shara Hall needs. If not, it sure is a good one!”

Incidentally, if case you didn’t know or have forgotten, Jessie McCaulley was a very popular Forum friend, and about the only Darrington helper-outer we had for years and years. Among other virtues, she was a cooking phenom (quiltmaker extraordinaire, too), generously sharing her tips, tricks and recipes with us whenever she had something to offer.

I remember one year, nearing Thanksgiving it was, when she called to give us the secret to her (she didn’t say this, so I will) famous pumpkin pie.

“Add one teaspoon of vanilla,” she directed, “and substitute brown sugar for half of the regular sugar in your homemade pumpkin pie filling. You’ll be surprised at the flavor — it’s way better than the old original recipe.”

Jessie was totally, absolutely right about that — and some of us have been making our pumpkin filling her way ever since …